The Great Discipline (Ex. 32:15-33:11)

8/6/2008 9:33 AM

My Worship Time           Focus:  The great discipline

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Exodus 32:15-33:11

            Message of the verses:  I will again not copy the verses to this SD because of the length and number of verses that I am going over this morning.  I always make a point to read all of the verses and then read all the commentary in Warren Wiersbe’s books that I am using for each book of the Bible that I am studying.  Sometimes I do search out other commentaries to read or perhaps a study Bible that I am reading I will look at the notes from it but mostly I use Warren Wiersbe’s books because they are easy to understand and it has been said that “he puts the cookies right on the shelf where I can reach them.” 

            This portion of Scripture tells the terrible story of what happens when Moses came down from the mountain to find the people of Israel have a party, even a sensual party in the absence of Moses.  As I learned from the section I read yesterday that this truly displeased the Lord even to the point of wanting to destroy all of them and making a new nation from Moses, yet Moses interceded for them and now after coming down from the Mountain and seeing all they had done while he was away Moses asks the question “who is on the Lord’s side?”  The Levites answer and they then go out and kill 3000 of their brothers because of their sin.  I have written of this before but it is worth repeating that the day that the Law was given there were 3000 children of Israel saved and the day that the Holy Spirit was given there were 3000 children of Israel saved.  (See Acts 2) 

            Warren Wiersbe points out these verses:  “7  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.  8  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”  I would say that these verses hit the nail right on the head as far as what happened to the children of Israel in the section of Scripture being studied this morning.  It also happened in the life of David and his family when he was told that the sword would not depart from his family after his sin with Bathsheba and it never did.  God forgives our sins but there are many times when the consequence of sin even though forgiven still comes to fruition. 

            I have made somewhat of an error in doing my devotions this morning in that I again took the large heading of the outline and did not break it down into the smaller headings and so I will have to repeat some of this over the next two days.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I will make this short but simple:  I need to take sin more seriously!

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1. Take sin more seriously.
2. Trust the Lord to guide and direct my paths.
3. Trust the Lord to help me to enjoy this vacation.

Memory verses for the week:                                  Exodus 20:1-5

1. Then the Lord spoke all these words, saying,
2. I am the Lord You God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3. You shall have no other gods before me.
4. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
5. You shall not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and forth generations of those who hate me.

8/6/2008 10:17 AM